Amidst the Covid-19 crisis, stranded migrant workers are struggling hard sans help, and the government will have to clear many obstacles to reach them, observed a study conducted by the Department of Sociology at Savitribai Phule Pune University and organisations including the Centre for Labour Research and Action, Habitat Forum and Mashal.

The study titled ‘Rapid assessment of unorganised, informal and migrant workers’ states, “Data indicates half the labourers do not have bank accounts. We suggest cash relief with an appropriate mechanism of doorstep delivery.” The summary draws on data from 592 respondents covering migrant, informal and unorganised workers in Gujarat-Rajasthan and Maharashtra.

In Maharashtra, 60 per cent of workers have a bank account compared to 54 per cent in Gujarat. An overwhelming majority in the two States have an Aadhaar card but lack ration card, except for Rajasthan’s brick kiln workers.

The assessment indicates that only a little more than half the workers have a ration card and given that it is not applicable when they migrate, it is not at all an adequate way to access the PDS. Aadhar cards are not being used to direct benefits, the study observed.

Mounting evidence thus continues to point towards universalisation of PDS to anyone who needs food grains during the crisis.

Large numbers of workers have received no help, and where they have, it is being channelled primarily through NGOs, labour unions/Self-Help Groups and the government. Forty seven per cent of workers in Maharashtra received no help, and the remaining obtained help from NGOs (19 per cent), labour unions (12 per cent) and government (22 per cent). Thirty five per cent in Gujarat and all the brick kiln workers in Rajasthan have received no help. The remaining in Gujarat received help from NGOs (39 per cent), labour unions (14 per cent) and government (17 per cent).

Fifty two per cent of the workers interviewed in Gujarat and 45 per cent in Maharashtra, received food ration as assistance, and 3-4 per cent in both states said they received some government money. The remaining obtained some help in the form of cooked food or personal protective equipment (PPE), but a vast majority said no help was being provided.

“Assistance must meet shifting on-ground needs So far, support to labourers has primarily come in the form of food packets/ ration. However, needs on the ground are now shifting to cooking fuel, water – for drinking and household work, and to some extent PPE,” the study adds.

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